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African Philosophy of Education: Analysis of the Neglected ...

Journal of education and Practice ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) , , 2017 178 African Philosophy of education : Analysis of the Neglected Ideals of Nyerere s Ujamaa Maira Justine Mukhungulu1* Vengi Ambrose Kimathi2 Atieno Kili K Odhiambo3 1. Teacher at Chasimba Secondary School, Box 1635-80108, Kilifi, Kenya 2. Teacher at Katanga Secondary School Box 174-90108 Machakos 3. Senior Lecturer in Philosophy of education , Department of Educational Foundations, University of Nairobi, Box 30197-00100, Nairobi, Kenya Abstract The ideals of education in Ujamaa Philosophy as enunciated by Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the founder president of Tanzania, are Neglected phenomena in African education . In about fifty decades of offering education in Africa, from the end of colonialism to the present, education has not enabled Africans to be self-reliant and to live peacefully as brothers and sisters.

African philosophy of education incorporates the ideals of African communalism, which refers to the tendencies among Africans to attach strong allegiance to their communities characterised by …

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1 Journal of education and Practice ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) , , 2017 178 African Philosophy of education : Analysis of the Neglected Ideals of Nyerere s Ujamaa Maira Justine Mukhungulu1* Vengi Ambrose Kimathi2 Atieno Kili K Odhiambo3 1. Teacher at Chasimba Secondary School, Box 1635-80108, Kilifi, Kenya 2. Teacher at Katanga Secondary School Box 174-90108 Machakos 3. Senior Lecturer in Philosophy of education , Department of Educational Foundations, University of Nairobi, Box 30197-00100, Nairobi, Kenya Abstract The ideals of education in Ujamaa Philosophy as enunciated by Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the founder president of Tanzania, are Neglected phenomena in African education . In about fifty decades of offering education in Africa, from the end of colonialism to the present, education has not enabled Africans to be self-reliant and to live peacefully as brothers and sisters.

2 The paper analyses Nyerere s ideals embedded in Ujamaa Philosophy and realises that African education portrays a neglect of the ideals of Nyerere and this does not auger well for the continent. The continent requires education that can make it self-reliant in economics, politics and cultural practices. It calls upon African educationists to rethink and revisit Nyerere s ideals with a view to charting appropriate education for the continent. Three action plans to be carried out by African philosophers of education that focus on constant reviews on interpreting Nyerere s ideas, political participation and forming organisations which specifically deal with African Philosophy of education are posited. It is recommended that more interpretation of Nyerere s ideas should be a continuous process. What also warrants further research is combining academic work with vocational training. Key words: Analysis , education , African Philosophy of education , African Philosophy Introduction This paper comprises five parts numbered 1-5.

3 Part 1 provides the background and literature on Nyerere s concept of African Philosophy of education . Part 2 is the problem statement. The methodology is explained in part 3 whereas the actual Analysis and discussion form part 4. The last part sketches the way forward. At the end, the paper is concluded and some recommendations made. 1. Background Information and Literature on Nyerere s Concept of African Philosophy of education First the background explains what Philosophy , education , African Philosophy and African Philosophy of education mean, and then it delves into Nyerere s concept of African Philosophy of education . Philosophy is defined in various ways. Immanuel Kant defines Philosophy as a way of life according to certain knowledge; thus it is that knowledge that determines the way of life of a particular group of individuals (Kant, 1964). Staniland (1979) defines Philosophy as the critical examination of the ideals which individuals live by; these ideals which individuals live by would entail justice, morality, politics and religion.

4 Olasunji (2008) defines education as a process through which learning is facilitated, or the process through which skills, knowledge, values, beliefs, and habits are passed on from one generation to the next. African Philosophy is defined by Bruce & Janz (2009) as a Philosophy produced by African people and portrays the Africans perception of the world they duel in. Kanu (2012) defines it as the philosophical reflection and Analysis done by the contemporary professional philosophers on African conceptual systems and realities. Akinpelu (1981), Makumba (2007) and Oruka (1997) define African Philosophy as Philosophy produced by people with African interest and its purpose is to resolve African issues. Thus, African Philosophy of education would be a Philosophy of education produced by people with African interest whose purpose is to solve African educational issues. Akinpelu (1981) defines African Philosophy of education as the application of principles of Philosophy to solve problems of education in Africa.

5 In this paper, African Philosophy of education will be taken to mean an integrated thought process that examines educational issues from African perspectives in accordance with universal thinking to arrive at solutions that make education relevant and meaningful to Africa (K Odhiambo, 2010). The idea of African Philosophy from which we have African Philosophy of education is traceable to the ancient Egypt (Kemites) whereas in the contemporary world a book written by Placide Tempels, Bantu Philosophy , in 1945 provides an important landmark (Oruka, 1997). The advent of post-colonial education in Africa stimulated thought in looking for educational Philosophy that would lay more emphasis on African cultures. Culture is within the axiological branch of Philosophy and it studies values and education is a product of culture, hence the description of education as value-laden affair, although other branches of Philosophy such as metaphysics, epistemology and logic significantly impact on education .

6 As noted by Makumba (2007), culture is the main Journal of education and Practice ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) , , 2017 179 distinguishing feature of different philosophies. African Philosophy of education incorporates the ideals of African communalism, which refers to the tendencies among Africans to attach strong allegiance to their communities characterised by collective cooperation and ownership of resources by members of a community (Heinz, 2006). Nyerere s Ujamaa Philosophy espouses communalism. As explained by Misia & Kariuki (2011), Nyerere notes four limitations that are evident in Tanzania s education and are common to many of African countries today. First, education inherited from the colonialists is elitist in nature such that it is designed to meet the interests and needs of a very small proportion of citizens and thus fails to produce an egalitarian society.

7 Second, the education has a tendency of uprooting its recipients from their native societies thus creating no link between them and the society. Third, education tends to emphasise on book- knowledge where education only stresses on knowledge acquired through theory and not life experiences. Lastly, education does not combine school learning with work. To address the limitations, Nyerere proposes the Philosophy of Ujamaa, a Kiswahili word meaning familyhood or brotherhood (Cornelli, 2012). Nyerere is highly acknowledged of his concept of Ujamaa Philosophy which he considers to be the basis of African socialism. The term African socialism, was coined in 1962 by African leaders at a conference in Dakar, Senegal, to be a Philosophy to guide African countries which were emerging from colonialism (Friedland & Rosberg, 1964). Hence Ujamaa is a variant of African socialism. education policy for Ujamaa is self-reliance. A self-reliant person is defined by Njoroge and Bennaars (1986) as someone who is able to realise themselves, not only physically and mentally but also morally, socially and emotionally.

8 For self-reliance to be achieved an individual must change their attitude to be in tandem with the society s ideology. Nyerere opines that in the individual, just like the society, there is an attitude and for stability in any given society to prevail, there must be resonance between the attitude in the individual and that of the society (Nyerere, 1987). What an individual thinks must be congruent to what the society thinks. Nyerere s concept of African socialism is based on three major tenets: work by everyone and exploitation by none; equitable distribution of resources which are produced jointly, and equality and respect for human dignity (Thenjiwe & Thalia, 2009). Africans traditionally are people who work together for the benefit of all members of the society and many Africans hold the value of sharing and assisting one another (Nyerere, 1987). African traditional education was for self-reliance.

9 education for self-reliance, as explained by Nyerere (1967), can only be achieved in totality by an education system that combines practical work with academic work so that learners will not only know how to read, write and perform some numerical tasks but will also learn how to interact with phenomena for their survival and also for the good of the community in which they live. To a larger extent, Nyerere s thoughts are collinear with the progressivism belief that, progress and change are fundamental to one s education (Robert, 1995). Robert notes that progressivism insists that students learn best from what they consider most relevant to their lives. What is important to the learners is what has a utilitarian value to their community; likewise Nyerere stipulates that education should not divorce individuals from their community but should rather make them useful for the overall development of their community.

10 It is through practical education that learners would be ready for the real world and fulfill the philosophic ideals of education for self-reliance. Nyerere s ideas marry with the Reconstructionist ideals who believe that students learn more, remember facts longer, and apply them to new situations better through real experiences, rather than through mere verbosity (Ozmon, 1972). Nyerere s reiteration on practical education touches much on methods of tutelage, through practical education students develop reflective inquiry methods to life s challenges which arouses sense of commitment and responsibility in learners (Ozmon, 1972).He insists that education has also to prepare learners for their responsibilities as free workers and citizens in a free and democratic society, thinking for themselves and making judgments on all the issues affecting them and the entire community. Nyerere (1967) maintains that learners have to be able to interpret the decisions made through the democratic institutions of the society, and also to understand their implementation in the light of the peculiar local circumstances where they happen to live.


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